Chris McKeckney was a major player in the Blazin Squad reunion tour two years ago. The hair gel loving lads resurfaced in the spotlight when Marcel Somerville, aka Rocky B, went into the Love Island villa and was at the centre of reality romance. While some of the fresh-faced group went back to their day jobs, others have continued to court the limelight. In 2005, Strider, Flava and Kenzie signed a record deal with Polydor records, and began recording an album under the name Friday Hill, named after a location in their hometown in Chingford. he said. Eles tambm anunciaram que iriam lanar um novo lbum pela nova gravadora, Peach Records. In a previous interview with Manchester Evening News he said: "I might have a solo career or start to write. The group had six top ten hits, including "Crossroads", a cover version of the Bone Thugs-n-Harmony original. Rumour has it that Tommy was the one who came up with the idea for the band to Crossroads - leading them to chart success. There's too many to tag but you know who you are. ), but we haven't heard a peep from them on the chart since 2009. Despite their record label wanting to drop them following the lack of success of the single, they had signed a binding contract to release an album. While Melo-D real name Chris McKeckney has worked as a window fitter in recent years, he's also kept one foot in the music biz. Blazin' Squad member James Mackenzie a.k.a. He is from England. Is that Marcel, from Love Island? They hit the big time back in 2002 but now 15 years has passed and a lot has changed. James Murray stayed close with his bandmate Mustafa Omer and performed together as MoJam. The pair co-wrote and co-produced Sam Smith and Naughty Boy's smash hit La La La, and worked on Jess Glynne's debut album. ", (Image: The Sun/Getty/Buzzfeed/Mirror Online). articles across the internet. Hooray. It also failed to re-ignite the low sales of the album. MC Freek, Rocky B, Melo-d, Reepa, Krazy, Spike-e, Flava . This content is imported from YouTube. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. The UK pop charts had proved themselves ready for an influx of urban music, and East West Records, an imprint of Warner Music, snapped up teenage rap group Blazin' Squad a year earlier. The Squad's Reepa tells Leigh Mytton all about it. His debut single "Crossroads" with the Blazin' Boys hit the #1 spot on the UK music charts when he was 15 years old. Lee's trademark spiky blonde hair made him stand out from the group. Cosmopolitan, Part of the Hearst UK Fashion & Beauty Network. While he's back to being close with the boys these days, he also previously performed as a solo act called The Lee Bailey Project, which is still visible on MySpace. "We Just Be Dreamin'" reached number three in July 2003, and "Flip Reverse", which was co-written by former member Liam D'Souza reached number two in November. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. For other inquiries, Contact Us. Jamie McKenzie is now a very sculpted personal trainer, Marcel Sommervile welcomed his first child earlier this year, Freek carried his love of music through to his work as a band manager, Strider now runs a successful songwriting company, James Murray ( pictured) and his old bandmate worked on Naughty Boy and Sam Smith's huge hit La La La, Sam Foulkes has partaken in a few Blazin' Squad reunions since they split, Chris now has platinum blond hair and works as an engineer, Lee Bailey has retreated from the limelight, DJ Tommy B: he's still working as DJ these days. Marcel and partner Rebecca are now on MTV Celebrity Bums: Famous and Pregnant. 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Na pocztku zesp skada si z 10 czonkw o pseudonimach: Reepa, Krazy, Kenzie, Flava, Tommy-B, Spike-e, Strider, Rocky-B, Freek i Melo-D. Caa dziesitka pochodzi z Walthamstow, miejscowoci pooonej na poudnie od Londynu. At the end of 2021, they posted on the Mojam Instagram: "In a year full of ups and downs, somehow we had one of our best years to date. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. Keeping well? Blazin' Squad were an English Hip-Hop crew consisting of James MacKenzie aka Kenzie, Mustafa Omer aka Strider, James Murray aka Flava, Marcel Somerville aka Rocky B, Ollie Georgiou aka Freek, Chris McKeckney aka Melo-D, Stuart Baker aka Reepa, Lee Bailey Krazy, Sam Foulkes aka Spike-E, Joe Williams aka J-Tell, Tom Beasley aka Tommy-B, and Chris 5. Aim for the stars and if you miss at least you will land on the moon.. #gooner. Something went wrong, please try again later. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. The man sacrificed his adolescence to the slings and arrows of the pop industry's outrageous fortune only to wind up as an unrecognisable and, seemingly, unfanciable contestant on ITV2's dating reality television show, Love Island. Their representative told The Telegraph: "There are no major plans apart from the band performing a few shows up and down the country". To sign up for the Hull Live newsletter, click here. Kenzie now shares his luxury lifestyle, wearing designer clothes, and jet setting to Dubai, whilst supporting a rock hard pair of abs. Stuart Baker has continued to appear on stage with some of his former bandmates for Blazin' Squad shows over the past few years, while juggling his proper job as a media manager for the BBC. He's apparently working in the import/export industry now (similar to flipping/reversing) but still does the occasional gig with Blazin' Squad and has been showing his Team Marcel Love Island support online, too. Their comeback single 'Let's Start Again' peaked at No. THEY burst onto the music scene with baggy clothes, excessive hair gel and a crew that would put the biggest Stateside rapper's entourage to shame. Stuart has now ditched the gelled hair and shaved eyebrows of his youth in favour of a grown-out locks and designer stubble. The pair welcomed their first child - a son they named Roman - at the end of January. Blazin' Squad burst onto the scene 20 years ago, clocking a No.1 hit with their debut single. Before lockdown, Tommy worked as a DJ. The baby faced member of Blazin Squad travels the UK as a DJ. "Here 4 One" was issued as the third single from Now or Never in early 2004, peaking at #6 on the UK Singles Chart, but sales failed to be strong enough to warrant a third album deal. . We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Despite ditching the hair gel and growing a beard, the 36 . Strider, Freek, Krazy, Tommy-B, Melo-D, Spike-E, Reepa, and Kenzie all met at Higham Park School in Chingford, London where they bonded over a love of hip-hop. The rapper hilariously tried to keep his time in the boyband a closely guarded secret, before choosing to disclose the revelation to fellow islanders one by one. Oliver wanted to update a tattoo on his left bicep which depicted the date the band got their first number one song and the day they signed their record contract. Clearly very proud of his achievements with the band, Sam, 36, still reminds people he is a member of Blazin' Squad in his Twitter bio - though these days he doesn't post often. Sam's also taken part in some Blazin Squad reunion tours. Answer: Melody. The singer is now married and has a baby. We met them at the crossroads back in the early noughties, and their catchy RnB songs were stuck in our heads for days, but what happened to the 10 members of Blazin' Squad? He and best band pal Flava formed a songwriting/production team called Mojam, which has been impressively successful. Teachers Dear Diary: Blazin's Reepa hits the clubs Updated 25 October 2002, 11.58. Twelve years on from his boy band adventure, Marcel Sommerville is taking part in the2017 series of Love Island. DJ Tommy, who is a fan of cycling, has not been seen with the group during any of their reunion gigs. Melo-D is a member of the band, but 'Melody' isn't. Strider, Rocky B, and Krazy are all members. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. Oh, and he makes occasional squad reunion appearances with a few of the other lads too. Kenzie has certainly grown up since his band days, Reepa has ditched his spikes since the '00s. Jon O'Brien of AllMusic called them the "self-proclaimed pioneers of 'chav' culture". The doting dad regularly shares snippets of his life to his 615k followers on Instagram. Most have kept a finger in the musical pie, from artist management (Freek, formerly a corporate banker) and songwriting (Flava and Strider) or DJing (Tommy-B). This week Reepa gives us the the latest on what Blazin' Squad have been up to. Even though the releases were issued as underground white labels, "Standard Flow" sold enough copies to chart as Blazin' Squad's first Top 100 chart entry, peaking at number 78 on the chart of 17 August 2002 with three weeks in the countdown. So, of course, everyone is asking - just what happened to the boys? Some members valiantly carried on, and with limited success. Speaking to Manchester Evening News way back in 2004, Lee said he'd like to stay in the industry if the band ended. Freek also appears to be a Tottenham Hotspur fan judging from his tweets. After the band split, Krazy, real name Lee Bailey, along with Strider, Flava, Kenzie, and Rocky B announced that they would be reuniting. She introduced me to new pleasures and all kinds of different positions.". Kenzie arrives at the UK Premiere of new animated film "Valiant" at the Odeon West End on March 20, 2005. His curly ginger locks are gone, replaced with a bald head and bushy beard. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, Blazin' Squad had six top 10 singles and a number one single, Kenzie has undergone a huge transformation, Marcel went on to star in 2017's edition of Love Island, Flava and Strider joined forces to write songs for artists such as Sam Smith and Leona Lewis, Freek has a tattoo of the date the band got their number one single Crossroads, Melo-d became a window fitter after the group split, Blazin Squad then & now Sam Foulkes (Spike E), Blazin Squad then & now Tom Beasley (DJ Tommy B), Despite their success, the group disbanded in 2006, Where Blazin Squad stars are now unrecognisable transformation to surprising career change & tattoo disaster, Olivia Attwood praises best pal Georgia Harrison as 'brave and dignified' after Stephen Bear jailed for sharing sex tape, Peter Andre reveals strict rule for daughter Princess's career after she teams up with fashion brand, Where cast of Flipper are now - from hilarious run-in with the Queen to Breaking Bad fame & star with 14 kids by 4 mums, Stephen Bears fiance Jessica Smith vows to stick with him 'through thick and thin' after shamed reality star is jailed, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). 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